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Piano Sonata in G major, Hob XVI:6

Introduction

Most impressive of Haydn’s early sonatas is the four-movement G major, No 6. The opening movement deploys a diverse array of galant clichés with a confident swagger, while the final Allegro molto, spiced by irregular phrase lengths, shares the drive and dash of Haydn’s early symphony finales. There is a Baroque flavour to the trio of the minuet, with its chromatically falling bass (a traditional symbol of lamentation), and to the G minor Adagio, in which the right hand spins an expressive arioso over a steadily reiterated quaver pulse.

Recordings

This third double-selection of Haydn Sonatas gravitates around those written in the 1770s, including the great C minor Sonata from the composer’s ‘Sturm und Drang’ period, plus three early works from the 1750s and the D major Sonata written during ...» More